Singh: Backing out

New Delhi, May 14: Foreign minister K. Natwar Singh has called off his visit to Senegal next week, apparently because it would have clashed with Rajiv Gandhi’s death anniversary, raising doubts over India’s seriousness in dealing with Africa.

Sources said though no reason has been given for cancelling the trip, the veteran Congressman may have decided against leaving the country around May 21, the day the former Prime Minister was assassinated 14 years ago.

But the decision to call off the scheduled visit has angered several African countries, especially the smaller ones, which do not enjoy a high profile. India’s links in the continent have been mainly with South Africa, Nigeria and a few other countries. But as Delhi hopes to find a place in the UN Security Council, it needs the support of all African nations.

Moreover, the discovery of oil in the last few years in many of these countries, especially those in west Africa, has made them attractive investment destinations.

Singh was to leave for Senegal’s capital Dakar next week to attend a foreign ministerial meeting of Team-9, whose other members are seven west African countries: Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Chad and Burkina Faso.

The Team-9 initiative was part of Delhi’s policy to enter into serious engagement with the region.

Singh had agreed to visit Dakar on May 20 when he met his Senegalese counterpart on the sidelines of the Asian-African conference in Jakarta last month. Accordingly, the Team-9 members were informed and it was agreed that the foreign ministerial meeting would be held in Senegal.

The meeting was scheduled between May 20 and 21. Though the dates were finalised at Singh’s behest, the Indian government has now informed Senegal and the seven others about the foreign minister’s inability to travel to Dakar on the agreed dates.

India’s interaction with most west African nations has been minimal though, over the past few years, the oil- and mineral-rich region has been getting a lot of focus from key international players, particularly the US, which has started investing heavily in Guinea-Bissau and other neighbouring countries.

An added attraction for foreign investors is that most of the oil production here is off shore, which insulates them from disturbances inland.

If geographical distance has been one of the main reasons that has kept Delhi away from the region, the negligible presence of people of Indian origin and lack of English speakers in these countries have created stumbling blocks.

A change came when the BJP-led regime began deepening ties with African countries as part of its policy to extend India’s interaction with countries outside its immediate periphery.